1,014 research outputs found
Maria Teresa Horta jornalista: percurso, memória e circunstâncias
No full textThe present article aspires at reconstructing the journalistic career of Maria Teresa Horta, whose relevance is justified by the dimension of her literary legacy, along with the contribution given to the feminist movement in Portugal. Through an expository itinerary of her professional chronology, we will endeavour to unveil the context of her exercise of this profession, the editorial structures she was part of, her publications and her professional peers. Building from the professional narrative of the author of Minha Senhora de Mim, we will attempt to account for the specificities of different media structures and the challenges and problems Maria Teresa faced during the multiple decades that she practised journalism. To this end, we have created a fundamental separation in the text, between the period running up to the April 1974 Revolution and the period thereafter. Finally, we will aim to underline the gender dimension in the journalistic experience of Maria Teresa Horta.O presente artigo tem como propósito a reconstrução do percurso jornalístico de Maria Teresa Horta, cuja pertinência se justifica pela dimensão da obra literária, a par da marca insuprível que imprimiu no feminismo em Portugal. Procuraremos, num itinerário expositivo da sua cronologia profissional, desvelar os contextos de exercício ocupacional, os conselhos editoriais que integrou, as publicações e os pares profissionais que conheceu. A partir da narrativa da autora de Minha Senhora de Mim, tentaremos dar conta das especificidades das várias estruturas de media e dos desafios e problemas impostos ao longo das várias décadas de prática jornalística. Para tal, estabelecemos uma divisão fundamental no texto, respeitante ao período que antecedeu a Revolução de Abril de 1974 e àquele que lhe sucedeu. Procuraremos, finalmente, sublinhar a dimensão do género na sua vivência jornalística. 
Maria Teresa Biagetti, Aldis Gedutis, Towards Ethical Principles of Research Evaluation in SSH.
No full textTowards Ethical Principles of Research Evaluation in SSH This paper is an interdisciplinary attempt to map rather unexamined ethical subfield in the broader scientific field of Research Evaluation. Some needs in the area of Research Evaluation are based on qualitative criteria. For this reason it is important to employ assessment criteria based on ethical principles and to have available shared guidelines to research evaluation ethics. Evaluative Bibliometrics uses quantitative criteria (the count of publications and citation analysis) to assess the works of scholars to have rewards, and it produces rankings of institutions for distributing resources. It is, thus, worthwhile to consider that the Evaluative Bibliometrics also requires to employ ethical principles (Furner, 2014). According to Furner, needs of ethical principles in Evaluative Bibliometrics may concern the following: (1) identification of the values held by the members of subgroups that are responsible for actions taken in the course of bibliometric evaluations; (2) identification of the principles for which the members of each subgroup advocate; (3) transparency about the statistical methodologies used and clear description of the results. Moreover, the evaluation process should be based on verified evidence and be unbiased, therefore, statisticians should present results based only on observed phenomena. In the field of Sociology of science, Richard Whitley emphasized that the systems of research evaluation (RES) affect the organization and governance of knowledge production. Strong research evaluation systems ̶ with high standardization, rules and procedures formally established for evaluation and publication of results ̶ influence the research strategies of universities and research institutes, with differences between various scientific fields (Whitley, 2007). Among consequences of strong retrospective assessment systems there is the restriction on universities’ independence in pursuing unorthodox methodologies, in developing innovative theories, and the dissuasion to establish new fields of research in disagreement with dominant disciplinary ideals. The impact of RES is more evident on sciences that present a high level of research objectives coordination, a high level of mutual dependence between scientists to maintain scientific reliability and a high cohesion of scientific elites. In contrast, it is lower in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), which present a significantly lower level of scientific production organization, a higher level of disciplinary fragmentation, a higher grade of uncertainty about scientific objectives and a lower level of mutual dependence on disciplinary elites (Whitley, 1984: 87-95; 159-160). Holding in high regard Whitley’s deep analysis, we assume that Research Evaluation plays a fundamental role both in the development of disciplines and in the career advancements of researchers. It is expected to impact on the development of scientific fields, as it may limit novelty and inventiveness of emerging researchers, which must conform to the dominant elites to achieve academic consensus (Whitley, Gläser and Laudel, 2018). This is the reason why ethical principles to support the assessing procedures and shared guidelines for ethical behaviour are highly required. In the field of Evaluation Ethics, the most part of researches are devoted to the evaluation of social projects, to highlight ethical involvements from the point of view of evaluators (Morris, 2008; Schwandt, 2015) and to investigate ethical dilemmas in professional behaviour and in program evaluation, stressing on the problems that arise from the relationships between evaluators and stakeholders and clients (Newman and Brown, 1996). The purpose of this work is not to address issues of Evaluation Ethics from the point of view of evaluators of projects and the ethical challenges that arise in different professions, but to examine the core of Evaluation ethics in connection to Research Ethics, and to assume from the available guidelines for the Research Ethics suggestions and indications for providing guidelines for Research Evaluation in SSH. There are different research evaluation situations in SSH: ex ante research evaluation: attribution of competitive research funding (national or international); ex post research evaluation: reviews after call for papers, articles to be published in scientific journals or in proceedings of scientific conferences; institutional evaluations by Ministries of Education, or national habilitation procedures, but also attribution of funding based on the evaluation of careers and scientific production. Both ex ante and ex post evaluations are involved in funding allocation. In both cases ethical issues are relevant: in ex ante evaluation it is required to verify the feasibility of the research project, involving the stakeholders that should collaborate; in ex post evaluation are involved judgements on careers of researchers. Thus, analysing different contexts, which might be applicable to the Research evaluation ethics, we faced a series of difficulties. First, the field is underdeveloped: majority of researchers do participate in various research evaluation procedures on different levels, but nobody bothers to provide the clear and intelligible set of ethical rules and/or recommendations. Second, there are loads of the issue related material, which is mostly irrelevant as it is scattered between the not-inter-related fields and as a rule is too general and abstract for the ethical research evaluation guidelines. Third, this to-be-established field of the Research evaluation ethics neighbours with two disconnected albeit important fields: (1) Research ethics, which covers mostly natural sciences and psychology and do not think of another SSH, especially, humanities; (2) Evaluation ethics, which mainly aims at evaluation of different social programmes, not concentrating on research. Fourth, the above-mentioned ethical attempts lack sufficient theoretical background in ethical theories as it is by no means clear what is expected from an evaluator as a moral agent. In order to tackle these shortcomings and to provide tentative principles in Research evaluation ethics, available materials and data in the fields of Research ethics and Evaluation ethics should be analysed, compared and combined with those of ethical theories. The most relevant Research ethics sources: ALLEA The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (2017), ESRC Framework for Research Ethics (2015), DFID Review of Ethics Principles and Guidance in Evaluation and Research (2015), ESF Peer Review Guide (2011), The Norwegian National Committees for Research Ethics etc., as well as works by researchers such as Robert Merton (1973), David R. Resnik (1998), Michael Morris (2008), Thomas Schwandt (2015), Henrikka Mustajoki and Arto Mustajoki (2017) etc. Data for Evaluation ethics is provided by UNEG Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation (2008), as well as by guidelines found in the documents of American Evaluation Association, Australasian Evaluation Society, Canadian Evaluation Society, Czech Evaluation Society, (German) Evaluation Society, Japan Evaluation Society, Swiss Evaluation Society etc. Both Research ethics and Evaluation ethics provide certain moral principles to deal with proper conduct in their ethics-related situations. In Research ethics the most frequent principles and/or values are the following: rigour, reliability, respect, responsibility, honesty, value-free etc. Accordingly, Evaluation ethics is meant to be grounded in autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, responsibility, justice, fidelity etc. These principles are classified and reinterpreted with the help of toolboxes provided by relevant ethical theories. For our purposes three types of ethical theories are relevant and should be taken into consideration: Deontological ethics: What are moral agent‘s duties to perform? Who or what justifies moral duties? What are rules of research evaluation? Utilitarian ethics: What consequences can be achieved by the action of moral agent? Will they increase common good? What evaluation strategies provide best moral consequences (for society in general, for evaluators and the evaluated)? Virtue ethics: What is moral phronesis? What are the virtues and moral character of a moral person? What are moral characteristics of evaluators? We consider the five ethical principles for evaluation (suggested by Karen S. Kitchener in 1984 for psychological field, and again presented by Newman and Brown 1996, also represented by Resnik 1998, Mustajoki and Mustajoki 2017): Respect for autonomy; Non maleficence (do not harm, do not cause injury); Beneficence (to do good); Justice: procedural (decisions that impact on scholars) and distributive (resources allocation); Fidelity (honesty, integrity). Non maleficence and procedural and distributive Justice are the topics most relevant for our purposes. With the aim of developing and constructing a tentative set of minimal moral requirements and guidelines applicable to the Ethics of research evaluation in the contexts of peer review, ex ante and ex post research evaluations, we try to suggest the following lines to adopt in SSH. Following suggestions from the most relevant Research ethics aforementioned sources, we identified the concept of objectivity (Daston and Galison, 2007), applied to the critical evaluation, as the most relevant for our purposes. Professional ethics of evaluation involves the absence of bias: political, personal, cultural, disciplinary, etc. and an evidence-based evaluation. A general guideline could be to distinguish three aspects: 1) the identification and analysis of the object of a work; 2) the subjective judgement; 3) the possible stakeholders. The aim of our work is to suggest guidelines for Research Evaluation in SSH grounded on the specific characteristics of the sciences that must be evaluated. A characteristic of History, for instance, is the use of historical sources. A historical monograph based on unknown, or never used, important sources, such as archival documentation, must be, of course, recognized as a work that brings about an important contribution to the field. In this case, an ethical principle should be the identification of the objective relevance of the work. On the other hand, the subjective judgement could highlight methods and procedures in using the sources (archival documentation), how well the author has analysed the documents, or what are the borders of the subjective opinion etc. Finally, what benefits of the research at hand give to possible stakeholders (professional community or wider public)? References Daston, Lorraine and Galison, Peter. 2007. Objectivity. New York: Zone Books. Furner, Jonathan 2014. The Ethics of Evaluative Bibliometrics, in: Cronin, B. and Sugimoto, C. R. (eds.) Beyond Bibliometrics: Harnessing Multidimensional Indicators of Scholarly Impact. Cambridge, Mass. and London: The MIT Press, pp. 85-107. Merton, Robert 1973. The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Morris, Michael (ed.) 2008. Evaluation Ethics for Best Practice. Cases and Commentaries. New York: The Guilford Press. Morris, Stephan G. 2015. Science and the End of Ethics. Palgrave Macmillan. Mustajoki, Henrikka and Mustajoki, Arto. 2017. New Approach to Research Ethics: Using Guided Dialogue to Strengthen Research Communities. London and New York: Routledge. Newman, Dianna L. and Brown, Robert D. 1996. Applied Ethics for Program Evaluation. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Resnik, David B. 1998. The Ethics of Science: An Introduction. London: Routledge. Schwandt, Thomas A. 2015. Evaluation Foundations Revisited: Cultivating a Life of the Mind for Practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Whitley, Richard 1984. The Intellectual and Social Organization of the Sciences, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Whitley, Richard 2007. Changing Governance of the Public Sciences. The Consequences of Establishing Research Evaluation Systems for Knowledge Production in Different Countries and Scientific Fields, in: Whitley, R. and Gläser, J. (eds.) The Changing Governance of the Sciences. The Advent of Research Evaluation Systems. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer, pp. 3-27. Whitley, Richard, Gläser, Jochen and Laudel, Grit 2018. The Impact of Changing Funding and Authority Relationships on Scientific Innovations, “Minerva”, 56:109-134
Narrativas bíblicas na poética de Maria Teresa Horta
No full textOrientação: José Brissos-Lino; co-orientação: Paulo Mendes PintoA partir da análise de três obras poéticas de Maria Teresa Horta procuramos apurar o legado das narrativas bíblicas no seu universo ficcional/poético e de como o divino está impregnado na imaginação da autora. A partir da desconstrução do cânone, Maria Teresa Horta humaniza a relação de Maria e do anjo Gabriel, denúncia a natureza sexual dos anjos e reivindica para as feiticeiras a liberdade que, ainda agora, considera indispensável às mulheres, reflexo da sua atividade enquanto feminista. Apesar de ter recusado a fé católica na adolescência, as narrativas bíblicas surgem na obra da autora e, na sua reinterpretação, há um gesto político, de denúncia, de ousadia.From the analysis of three poetic works of Maria Teresa Horta we try to ascertain the legacy of the biblical narratives in her fictional / poetic universe and also to show how the divine is impregnated in the author. From the canon's deconstruction, Maria Teresa Horta humanizes the relationship of Mary and the angel Gabriel, denounces the sexual nature of the angels and claims to the sorceresses the freedom which, even now, considers essential to women, a reflexion of her own feminism. Despite having rejected the Catholic faith in adolescence, the biblical narratives appear in her work, in its reinterpretation there is a political gesture, denunciation, daring
Transcriptomic and morphological alterations in hTNPO3 MUT-microinjected Zebrafish embryos modelling Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy D2 in vivo
No full textTransportin-3, encoded by the TNPO3 gene, is physiologically involved in the translocation to the nucleus of many different proteins, such as SR proteins, which are associated with RNA metabolism. Mutations in the termination codon of the TNPO3 gene have been proved to cause Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy D2 (LGMD D2). More specifically, a single nucleotide deletion leads to the production of a protein with a 15 amino acid extension of its C-terminal domain. This project aimed to investigate the cause of LGMD D2, utilizing an in vivo approach, focusing on the role of TNPO3 on muscle development and to identify any potential molecular pathways linked to the disorder. This procedure involved the microinjection of mRNAs encoding the mutated form of human TNPO3 in Zebrafish embryos, to follow its effects on the myogenic processes during development. The subsequent analysis revealed changes in the gene expression profiles of Myogenic Regulatory Factors (MRFs) and muscle-specific proteins. The transcriptomic alterations are reflected on a phenotypical level by an aberrant organization of muscle fibres, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence staining. The methods we employed enabled us to gain an initial understanding of the role of Transportin-3 in muscle development and the pathogenic mechanism of its mutated form underlying LGMD D2, which has yet to be determined
Electrospun Poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) Scaffold Potentiates C2C12 Myoblast Bioactivity and Acts as a Stimulus for Cell Commitment in Skeletal Muscle Myogenesis
No full textTissue engineering combines a scaffold, cells and regulatory signals, reproducing a biomimetic extracellular matrix capable of supporting cell attachment and proliferation. We examined the role of an electrospun scaffold made of a biocompatible polymer during the myogenesis of skeletal muscle (SKM) as an alternative approach to tissue regeneration. The engineered nanostructure was obtained by electrospinning poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) in the form of a 3D porous nanofibrous scaffold further coated with collagen. C2C12 were cultured on the PLCL scaffold, and cell morphology and differentiation pathways were thoroughly investigated. The functionalized PLCL scaffold recreated the SKM nanostructure and performed its biological functions, guiding myoblast morphogenesis and promoting cell differentiation until tissue formation. The scaffold enabled cell–cell interactions through the development of cellular adhesions that were fundamental during myoblast fusion and myotube formation. Expression of myogenic regulatory markers and muscle-specific proteins at different stages of myogenesis suggested that the PLCL scaffold enhanced myoblast differentiation within a shorter time frame. The functionalized PLCL scaffold impacts myoblast bioactivity and acts as a stimulus for cell commitment, surpassing traditional 2D cell culture techniques. We developed a screening model for tissue development and a device for tissue restoration
Human Multidrug Resistance 1 gene polymorphisms and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
No full textBackground: For the first time we tested an association between the human multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) polymorphisms (SNPs) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Several MDR1 polymorphisms are associated with pathologies in which they modify the drug susceptibility and pharmacokinetics. Materials and Methods: We genotyped three MDR1 polymorphisms of 48 IPF patients and 100 control subjects with Italian origins. Results: No evidence of association was detected. Conclusion: There are 50 known MDR1 SNPs, and their role is explored in terms of the effectiveness of drug therapy. We consider our small-scale preliminary study as a starting point for further research
Transcriptomic and morphological characterization of a first Zebrafish model of Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy D2
No full textLimb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy D2 (LGMD D2) is a rare neuromuscular disorder caused by a heterozygous mutation in the termination codon of the TNPO3 gene. This gene encodes for Transportin-3 (TNPO3), an importin which normally mediates the translocation to the nucleus of SR proteins, a family of splicing factors and other proteins related to RNA metabolism. LGMD D2 is characterized by high variability in the onset and progression of the disorder, and the main clinical features are progressive muscle weakness and marked atrophy. Several mutations have been described as causative of LGMD D2, all resulting in a mutated protein that is 15-aminoacids longer in its C-terminal domain. However, the pathogenetic mechanism of this disorder remains unknown.
This project aims at investigating the pathogenesis of LGMD D2 utilizing an in vivo approach based on the creation of a Zebrafish model of disease. We focused on the role of TNPO3 on muscle development to identify any potential molecular pathways linked to the disorder. Experimentally we proceeded with the microinjection of mRNAs encoding the wild type or mutated form of human TNPO3 into Zebrafish embryos, to follow their effects on the myogenic processes during development up to 48 hpf. The subsequent analysis showed abnormalities in the gene expression profiles of Myogenic Regulatory Factors (MRFs) and muscle-specific proteins, suggesting an unbalance in the normal myogenic process. Next, we analysed how the transcriptomic alterations were reflected at a morphological level by transmission electron microscopy studies. At ultrastructural level we observed a random organization of myofibrils limited to the embryos microinjected with the mutant form of human TNPO3. These results suggest that our approach could be effective in establishing a Zebrafish model of LGMD D2 and enabled us to gain an initial understanding of the role of TNPO3 in muscle development and the pathogenic mechanism of LGMD D2
Maria José ao encontro de Tchekov
No full text“A Carta da Corcunda para o Serralheiro” (“Letter from the Hunchback Girl to the Metalworker”), signed by Maria José, was first performed in a theatre show in 1988 (by actress-director Maria do Céu Guerra), two years before the typescript was published in book form for the first time by Teresa Rita Lopes. The evidence upon which this article is built is that it was the theatre that revealed the dramatic destination of this singular epistle of the only female heteronym that Fernando Pessoa invented, which was also the last heteronym to be created by the author. The dramatic construction of Maria José can be approximated to the character-building strategies in Anton Chekhov’s realist dramaturgy, in a way that differs from Pessoa’s other dramaturgical experiences. The analysis of Chekhov’s ascendancy over Stanislavski’s research, as well as the importance of Schopenhauer’s conception of the tragicomic, which is simultaneously projected onto Chekhov’s theatre and Maria José’s profile, are favourable lines of reading for this rapprochement between Pessoa and the Russian fiction writer and playwright. Pessoa’s readings of Chekhov’s texts (such as the play Uncle Vania and the short story “Vanka”) provide relevant data for assessing the magnitude of this encounter.“A Carta da Corcunda para o Serralheiro”, assinada por Maria José, começou por ser difundida num espectáculo de teatro em 1988 (pela actriz-encenadora Maria do Céu Guerra) dois anos antes de o dactiloscrito se ver publicado em livro, pela primeira vez, por Teresa Rita Lopes. Parte-se da evidência de ter sido o teatro a revelar a destinação dramática da epístola singular do único heterónimo mulher que Fernando Pessoa inventou, que terá sido também o último a ser criado pelo autor. A construção dramática de Maria José pode ser aproximada às estratégias de construção de personagem na dramaturgia realista de Anton Tchekov, de um modo que se distingue de outras experiências dramatúrgicas de Pessoa. A análise do ascendente de Tchekov sobre as pesquisas de Stanislavski, bem como a importância da concepção de tragicómico em Schopenhauer, que se projecta em simultâneo sobre o teatro de Tchekov e sobre o perfil de Maria José, são linhas de leitura propícias para esta aproximação entre Pessoa e o ficcionista e dramaturgo russo. As leituras de textos de Tchekov por parte de Pessoa (como o caso da peça Tio Vânia e o conto “Vanka”) fornecem dados relevantes para avaliar a magnitude deste encontro
Possible Gender-Related Modulation by the ROCK1 Gene in Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility
No full textAIM:
In view of accumulating evidence supporting a pivotal role of the Rho/ROCK pathway in cancer, we investigated Rho-kinase polymorphisms as potential susceptibility factors in colorectal cancer (CRC) in a representative sample of the Italian population.
METHODS:
DNA obtained from the peripheral blood samples of 137 CRC patients and 141 healthy controls was genotyped for four ROCK1 (rs35996865; rs73963110; rs2127958; rs288980) and five ROCK2 (rs12692437; rs7563468; rs35768389; rs17463896; rs16857265) selected single nucleotide polymorphisms.
RESULTS:
None of the allelic variants of the nine selected markers was associated with the occurrence of CRC or with the development of regional lymph node metastasis. By contrast, the ROCK1 rs35996865 G variant allele was significantly more frequent in male patients (p = 0.028) than in the control group.
CONCLUSION:
This finding is, at present, the first that points to a possible gender-related modulation by the ROCK1 gene in CRC susceptibility
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